These marbled spumoni cookies bring together pistachio, cherry, and chocolateโall in one eye-catching, chewy, ultra-colorful cookie. Theyโre soft-baked with slightly crisp edges, gorgeous swirls, and that classic spumoni trio baked right into every bite.
Pistachio cookies… chocolate cookies… maraschino cherry cookies… all delicious on their own. But even better when you can have all 3 in 1 cookie! (By the way, have you tried the pistachio crinkle cookies or the chocolate-covered cherry cookies in Sally’s Baking 101? You should!)
What Is Spumoni?
Spumoni is a molded Italian dessert (originating in Naples) made from layers of pistachio, cherry, and chocolate gelato or ice cream. These cookies capture that classic flavor trio, but in a fun, chewy drop cookie form. Like my neapolitan cookies (chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry), this recipe starts with one base dough that gets divided and flavored three different ways. That method inspired todayโs spumoni version, along with cookbook author Sarah Kiefferโs well-loved neapolitan sugar cookies.
Texture & Flavor Notes
- Texture: Chewy and soft in the center, lightly crisp around the edges.
- Flavor: The pistachio portion is nutty and sweet, thanks to real pistachios and almond extract. The cherry portion brings fruity sweetness and a pretty pop of color. The chocolate portion is deep, smooth, and slightly fudgy from the cocoa, chocolate chips, + cherry juice.
- Overall: Think of these as a fun, colorful mash-up with each bite tasting slightly differentโsometimes chocolate-forward, sometimes pistachio, sometimes cherry. No two cookies look exactly the sameโฆ which is part of their charm.
Ingredients You Need for Spumoni Cookies:
For the base dough, you need these staple cookie ingredients:
- Flour: All-purpose flour is the base of this cookie recipe.
- Baking Powder & Baking Soda: To help the cookies puff up and spread out in the oven.
- Salt: Salt adds flavor and balances the sweetness.
- Butter: Creamed butter forms the base of these soft cookies. If you’re a beginner baker, here’s more on how to cream butter and sugar properly. Be sure to start with proper room-temperature butterโit’s cooler than you think!
- Granulated & Brown Sugar: We’re sweetening these cookies with both white and brown sugar, for the perfect mix of spread and soft texture.
- Egg + Egg Yolk: An egg binds everything together, and an extra yolk adds richness for extra-soft and chewy cookies.
- Vanilla: The base flavor on which to build all 3 cookie flavors!
For the flavors, you also need maraschino cherries, pistachios, almond extract, cocoa powder, and mini chocolate chips.
Mix together the base cookie dough. It’s a pretty thick dough at first, because we’ll mix it again with flavors. Divide it into 3 portions. You can eyeball it, or use a kitchen scale to keep things even.
Flavor the Cookie Doughs
To make each flavor, place one portion of dough back in the mixer along with the flavoring ingredients listed in the recipe below.
- Cherry: Chopped blotted maraschino cherries + flour + optional pink food coloring. For this we tested dried cherries, fresh cherries, and maraschino cherries. The strongest flavor, and most reminiscent to spumoni ice cream/gelato, is maraschino cherries.
- Pistachio: Ground pistachios + almond extract + optional green food coloring
- Chocolate: Dutch-process cocoa powder + maraschino cherry juice + mini chocolate chips. For this, we tested using milk, but the overall flavor of the cookie improved when we switched to maraschino cherry juice. (Which you’ll have anyway because of the cherries!)
Shape the Spumoni Cookies
We’re going to shape the cookies before refrigerating the dough today. Why? This particular cookie dough is a lot easier to work with when the dough is nice and pliable.
Success Tip: Roll the cherry dough balls first, then chill them in the refrigerator or freezer while you roll the other types of dough into balls. In testing, we found that the cherry dough spread more than the other two, so it benefits from a little extra chill time.
Roll small balls (about 15g each) of each type of cookie dough. You can place them on lined baking sheets while you’re working through rolling all the dough balls.
Once you have all your dough balls, grab one of each flavor, smush them together, and roll into one larger cookie dough ball (45g). You can marble them together as much or as little as you’d like.
Roll, Refrigerate, Then Bake
Roll the spumoni cookie dough balls into granulated sugar to coat each one, then place them all on a lined baking sheet.
Chill the dough balls before baking. You can refrigerate them for a minimum of 1 hour, or you can keep them in the fridge for up to 3 days and bake them fresh when you want them, even just a couple at a time!
Tips for Making Spumoni Sugar Cookies
Here are some tips we learned during testing:
- Cherry Dough Spreads: The cherry dough spreads more than the other 2, so make that one first so it can chill while you work on the others.
- Blot Moisture: Blot the maraschino cherries dry with a paper towel before you chop them.
- Food Scale: A food scale is a handy tool for dividing the dough into 3 equal pieces, and for portioning the cookie dough into equally sized balls.
- Best Chocolate Flavor: Use Dutch-processed cocoa powder for a smoother chocolate flavor. If you can’t find it, you can use natural cocoa powder instead. While I usually don’t recommend swapping natural for Dutch-process or vice versa, the amount is small enough in this recipe that it won’t affect the outcome of the cookies too much.
- Refrigerating is Key: Since these cookies are shaped while the dough is still soft and pliable, that 1-hour refrigerator rest ensures they bake thick and chewy instead of spreading thin.
- Color Intensity Varies: Because natural pistachios are muted and maraschino cherry juice can differ in brightness, your dough colors may look slightly different each batch and that’s normal. A touch of food coloring in those 2 flavors helps, but it’s optional.
This recipe is part of my annual cookie countdown called Sally’s Cookie Palooza. It’s the biggest, most delicious event of the year! Browse dozens of cookie recipes over on the Sally’s Cookie Palooza page.
Spumoni Cookies (Cherry, Pistachio, Chocolate)
- Prep Time: 1 hour, 45 minutes (includes chilling)
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 2 hours
- Yield: 22-24 cookies
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Chewy, colorful drop-style cookies inspired by classic spumoni: pistachio, cherry, and chocolate all swirled together in one soft, marbled drop-style cookie. Fun to make, beautiful to serve, and packed with flavor in every bite.
Ingredients
Base Cookie Dough
- 2 and 1/2 cups (313g) all-purpose flourย (spooned & leveled)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup (12 Tbsp; 170g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup (100g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1 large egg yolk, at room temperature
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Cherry:
- 1/4 cup (50g) maraschino cherries, drained, patted very dry, and finely chopped
- 3 Tablespoons (24g) all-purpose flour
- optional: 1 tiny drop pink gel food coloring (I did not use in the pictured cookies)
Pistachio:
- 1/2 cup (55g) ground pistachios (salted or unsalted)
- 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
- optional: 1 tiny drop green gel food coloring
Chocolate:
- 2 Tablespoons (10g) Dutch-process cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoons maraschino cherry juice, from the jar
- 1/3 cup (60g) mini chocolate chipsย
Topping
- 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
Instructions
- Make the base cookie dough: In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- In a large bowl using a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar together on medium-high speed until creamed, about 3 minutes. (Hereโs a helpful tutorial if you need guidance onย how to cream butter and sugar.) Add the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla extract, and beat on medium-high speed until combined. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and beat on low speed until incorporated, then increase to medium-high speed and beat until fully combined. The dough will be thick. Divide it into 3 equal portions.
- Make the cherry dough: Return one portion of dough to the mixing bowl. Add the chopped, blotted cherries, 3 Tablespoons flour, and pink gel food coloring (if using). Beat on medium speed until combined. Transfer the cherry dough to a bowl and refrigerate it while you prepare the remaining 2 doughs. Wipe the mixer bowl clean.
- Make the pistachio dough: Return another portion of dough to the mixing bowl. Add the ground pistachios, almond extract, and green gel food coloring (if using). Beat on medium speed until combined. Set aside. Wipe the mixer bowl clean.
- Make the chocolate dough: Return the final portion of dough to the mixing bowl. Add the cocoa powder, cherry juice, and mini chocolate chips. Beat on medium speed until combined. Set aside.
- Shape the cookies: Line baking sheets or large plates with parchment paper. Remove the cherry dough from the refrigerator. Scoop and roll it into small balls, about 15g each (a heaping 1/2 Tablespoon). Place on the lined baking sheet or plate, then refrigerate these cherry dough balls while you shape the pistachio and chocolate doughs. Repeat the shaping process with the pistachio and chocolate doughs, rolling all remaining dough into small balls, about 15g each.
- Topping: Place the granulated sugar for rolling in a small bowl or on a plate. Remove the cherry dough balls from the refrigerator/freezer. Press together 3 dough ballsโ1 of each flavorโand roll them into a single 45g cookie dough ball. Roll each marbled dough ball in the granulated sugar, then place on a lined baking sheet. Once all cookies are shaped and coated, cover and refrigerate the dough balls for at least 1 hour before baking (or up to 3 days). Chilling the shaped dough balls is imperative.
- Preheat oven to 350ยฐF (177ยฐC). Line large baking sheets withย parchment paperย orย silicone baking mats. Arrange the chilled cookie dough balls 3 inches apart on the lined sheets, about 8 or 9 cookies per sheet.
- Bake until the edges are set but the centers still look soft, about 14โ16 minutes. Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: There are a few options here! You can prepare the dough balls (either the individual pistachio, cherry, and chocolate portions or the fully marbled 45g balls) up to 3 days in advance; cover tightly and refrigerate until ready to bake. To freeze, shape the marbled dough balls but donโt roll them in sugar yet. Freeze on a baking sheet until solid, then transfer to an airtight container or freezer bag for up to 3 months. When ready to bake, roll the frozen dough balls in granulated sugar and bake from frozen, adding an extra minute to the bake time. Read my tips and tricks on how to freeze cookie dough. You can also freeze the baked cookies for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before serving.ย
- Special Tools (affiliate links):ย Glass Mixing Bowls | Whisk | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Silicone Spatula | Kitchen Scale | Food Processor (for pistachios) | Baking Sheets | Silicone Baking Mats or Parchment Paper | Medium Cookie Scoop | Cooling Rack
- Can I Make These Without Food Coloring? Yes. The cookies will still taste delicious, but the marbling contrast will be more subtle. A little color helps distinguish the flavors visually, but itโs optional.
- Can I Use Fresh or Dried Cherries Instead of Maraschino? Not for this recipe. Fresh or frozen cherries contain too much moisture and will change the texture of the dough. Dried cherries didn’t provide enough flavor. Maraschino cherries provide the right texture and signature spumoni flavor.
- Can I Use Different Nuts Instead of Pistachios? Pistachios give the most authentic spumoni flavor, but in a pinch, finely ground almonds or cashews work. Just note that the flavor will be slightly different.
- Can I Use Natural Cocoa Powder Instead of Dutch-Process? Yes, same amount. While I usually don’t recommend swappingย natural for Dutch-process or vice versa, the amount is small enough in this recipe that it won’t affect the outcome of the cookies.
- Be sure to check out my top 5 cookie baking tips AND these are my 10 must-have cookie baking tools.
- Inspired by neapolitan shortbread cookies and Sarah Kieffer’s Neapolitan Cookies
Reader Comments and Reviews
Well worth the time…Will build a meal around them! Thank you , Sally!
These cookies are delicious! I didn’t use any food coloring in my first batch. The cookie was great, but I really wanted those beautiful colors! When I made them again they were just gorgeous. Time consuming, but worth it. I do wish that there was a better cherry flavor, though. Maybe a cherry extract would help?
Regardless, these are five star cookies. Thanks Sally!
Let us know if you try a cherry extract, Sarah! Glad you enjoyed these.
These cookies were delicious with each of the individual flavors shining through. Will definitely make again.
Iโve used other spumoni cookie recipes but this is by far the best!!! My daughter and I make 12-15 kinds of cookies for Christmas and this recipe made the hands down favorite. The cookies have three amazing flavors in each one and the texture is pillowy soft with slightly crisp edges. Magnificent!! Thank you for this treasure Sally!!!
I’d like to make these in a loaf pan like the Rainbow cookies are made. I assume I would be able to do that by using the bake time in the Rainbow cookie recipe?
Hi Laura, these cookies are best as drop-style cookies as demonstrated in this post. You could certainly try shaping them in the loaf pan, but the cookies will likely not hold the square/rectangle shape as well as the Neapolitan cookies do. Let us know if you do decide to give it a try.
Followed the spumoni cookie recipe exactly as stated! They turned out great…very festive! I will make them again however they are way too big for a Christmas cookie at 45g. I weighed each flavor (15g each) and the final size is similar to a large chocolate chip cookie about 3 1/2 ” diameter. Next year I would make each flavor ball about 10g.
I followed the recipe exactly and the cookies were burnt on the edges/bottom and raw in the middle. Pushed oven temp down to 250 for half the recommended time to get anything edible. Very disappointed as this took a ton of time to prepare the dough.
Hi Holly, Iโm really sorry these were a fail for you. I completely understand how frustrating that must have been, especially after all the time and effort that goes into making (and shaping!) these cookies. Are you using a dark-colored baking sheet by chance? Those can cause the edges and bottoms to over-bake quickly. When cookies brown too fast on the outside but stay underdone in the center, itโs usually due to the pan used, the oven running hot, or rack position. For next time, I recommend checking your oven with an inexpensive oven thermometer, using a light-colored aluminum baking sheet, and baking in the center of the oven. If your oven tends to run hot, lowering the temperature by 15โ25ยฐF from the start can make a big difference with these thicker cookies.
What a fun recipe! These are a lot of work but so pretty. I found that the cherry did not need the extra flour, and the pistachio and chocolate needed some milk, (glad the author commented back to troubleshoot othersโ issues) as long as they all end up having a similar consistency. My only thing was that I found the only prominent taste is the chocolate, I would maybe add a cherry extract/pistachio extract or powder to those doughs. They are still tasty and my family loved them.
Wow these cookies are perfection!! Didnโt stray from the recipe, used a scale, and followed the refrigeration recommendations. I love that each cookie design is unique and that all the flavors come through. My husband said this is the best cookie heโs ever had (and heโs had tons lol). Definitely saving this one
Sally, again you came up with another GREAT recipe! These are delicious and really festive. I made exactly as directed and theyโre perfect!
I cannot begin to tell you just how wonderful this recipe is! I first saw spumoni cookies on a FB reel and something looked off with the recipe. When I looked in the comments, I saw the comment โthese look like Sallyโs Baking Addiction cookieโ. So I RAN right to your site because Iโve made a few things of yours in the past and all have been amazing! These are DELIGHTFUL โค๏ธ. Thank you as these will now be my annual cookie!
These are so good and were the favorite in my cookie box this year. They were pretty time consuming but worth it!
Iโm making these for the holidays and I was wondering if I could add a little of the cherry juice to help instead of food dye but that will add more liquid so even softer. With the chilling that should help, but wondered if that plus maybe a tablespoon of extra flour would be okay?
Thanks!
Hi Kenzie, we didn’t need the food dye for the cherry portion of the cookies to look pink, so you may find that you don’t need it either!
So good! I made these for a Christmas lunch and everyone loved them. Iโll be adding these to my annual Christmas cookie bake. They are a little time consuming (but easy!), so make them a day ahead of when you want them.
Made these reducing the sugar by using allulose and brown Splenda. Absolutely fabulous!!
Wonderful recipe! They are little time consuming, but not at all difficult. I made them for our extended family Italian Christmas dinner tonight, and I cannot wait for everyone to try them! I got exactly 22 and the colors and flavors are perfect. Adding this one to the permanent holiday folder!
These were so fun to make! All 3 flavors came together wonderfully. Admittedly, the green color didnโt pop quite as much but I used non-gel coloring so maybe thatโs why. Nevertheless, Iโm so glad I stumbled upon this recipe; it will be a repeat for sure! Itโs definitely time consuming with all the chill time but the end result was worth it.
Very good! I made these for a cookie competition today at work. Lots of compliments.
I am getting ready to make these gluten and dairy free. So excited!!
Let us know how they turn out!
Hi!! I tried these and they didn’t come out right at all. The chocolate and pistachio dough was so much firmer than the cherry dough that when cooked, the cookies were lopsided and underbaked. Any tips??
Hi Michelle, the cherry dough is a bit softer because of the cherries. However, the chocolate and pistachio doughs should still be soft and workable, not stiff or dry. If those two felt very firm, and you decide to try the recipe again, you can gently work 1 teaspoon of milk (maybe more cherry juice in the chocolate) into the firmer doughs so all three are closer in consistency before assembling. I’m sorry you had trouble with these!
Should the pistachios be raw or roasted? Thank you!
Hi Emma, either works here!
These are time consuming, but sooo worth it! Iโm making cookie boxes for friends and family and Iโve been doubling a lot of cookie recipes, because we love cookies in our household. I figured Iโd save myself from spending too much time with doubling this one and I regret it! This is such a great cookie and I guess Iโll omit it from cookie boxes or only put one instead of two! Haha. *I used gel food coloring (very tiny drop) and the cookies are vibrant! I weighed my dough when I separated it and I ended up getting three less chocolate balls than pistachio and cherry (I assume because of the add ins). I just took dough away from others and formed them with less chocolate in a few of them. I was able to get 21 cookies.
This is a good sugar cookie, but only the chocolate flavor is pronounced. The pistachio flavor is less strong than the chocolate, and the cherry flavor is pretty much just a hint. I would add more almond extract or pistachio flavoring to the pistachio dough, and I would either use a cherry/almond extract or some freeze-dried cherry powder to the cherry dough.
I also found that my cookies cracked a bit at the seams. I had a better result with the Neapolitan cookie on which this was based. Next time, I may try tweaking that recipe with these flavors.
I made these a couple of days ago. I was a little skeptical about putting pistachios in a holiday cookie. But it works well. The chocolate and the pistachio doughs were a little dryer than the cherry dough. But I continued on. They came out great. The whole family loves them. Aside from the marbled color, what I like most is the cherry and the chocolate flavors are noticeable almost immediately. And the flavor of the pistachio is a little softer and hits later. Not overpowering. Altogether, it’s a fantastic flavor profile.
I made these last night, and like other people are saying yes itโs quite time consuming, but I remained hopeful. Iโm super bummed because the colors are now where near what the photo shows. And I used food color! When baked it basically looks like a big tan cookie. The colors are barely distinguished ! So thatโs disappointing because I spent lots of time of these
Hi Angela, we understand the disappointment! What kind of food coloring did you use? We always recommend gel food coloring for the most vibrant colors.
I used non gel food coloring since it was all I had. The dough was quite vibrant but as soon as it baked it all dissipated. โโ๏ธ itโs actually quite comical how much they look nothing like your photos, it gives for a good laugh when I show people the side by side comparison lol! Oh well!
I made these today and mine are just as vibrant as Sallyโs!
Hi! Did you have a reason for using almond extract instead of Pistachio spread or pistachio extract? I have some pistachio spread and I’m curious how they would turn out with some of the spread added.
Hi Caro, Almond extract is more readily available for most, but you can certainly use pistachio extract in its place. We haven’t tried adding pistachio paste, but you can certainly try that as well (just a bit so that it doesn’t drastically alter the texture of the dough). Let us know what you try!
The flavors in this cookie are so good!! I was prepping in advance, so I rolled these into logs and froze. It made 3 logs. It is definitely important to smush the 3 doughs together so they won’t separate when baking. I froze the dough for 3 days wrapped in cling wrap, and when I was ready to bake, took out the log to warm up for about 45 min. I sliced it 1/2″ thick, rolled them slightly in my hands so they are not just a slice, and rolled in sugar. They baked up great! The pistachio is my favorite, I might make that as a standalone cookie sometime!